Archive · 18 Aug 2026
Late-Night Went Dark This Summer as Hosts Take Breaks
Late-night TV shows are the funny programs that air after the evening news.
This summer, most of the people who host those shows took very long vacations.
That left Jimmy Fallon as the only big late-night host still on TV.
Jimmy Kimmel takes summers off every year, and Seth Meyers is gone for months.
Stephen Colbert's show was canceled, and he is now writing a Lord of the Rings movie.
Fewer companies are paying to show ads on these programs, so the shows make less money.
Many people now watch funny hosts on YouTube instead of on regular TV.
Trevor Noah and Conan O'Brien have millions of YouTube fans.
Some new YouTube shows are struggling, though.
Jimmy Fallon says he wants to keep late-night going for the next generation.
Jimmy Fallon was the only broadcast late-night host on air for most of the summer.
Stephen Colbert is off writing a Lord of the Rings movie after CBS canceled The Late Show.
Seth Meyers is on a longer-than-usual break and returns September 21; The Daily Show returns September 8.
Ad spending on linear late-night shows fell from $439 million in 2018 to $221 million in 2024.
Trevor Noah and Conan O'Brien thrive on YouTube, while new YouTube late-night shows struggle to gain subscribers.
- Who
- Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert, and John Oliver, hosts of major late-night shows
- What
- Most broadcast late-night hosts took long summer breaks, leaving Fallon as the only one on air, amid falling ad revenue and the cancellation of The Late Show
- When
- Summer, with breaks spanning mid-June through late September
- Where
- U.S. broadcast television and YouTube
- Why
- Scheduled holidays, CBS's exit from late-night, and viewers shifting to YouTube
Broadcast late-night is in decline
Late-night is thriving on YouTube
Future of broadcast late-night
Broadcast late-night is in decline
The cancelation of The Late Show, Kimmel's likely departure, and falling ad spending signal the end of broadcast late-night; The Tonight Show may be the last franchise standing.
Late-night is thriving on YouTube
The genre is not dying, just moving platforms; Trevor Noah and Conan O'Brien have millions of YouTube subscribers, showing late-night comedy still has an audience.
Summer breaks as a warning sign
Broadcast late-night is in decline
Longer-than-usual breaks and John Oliver's one-year deal are worrying signs for the state of late-night.
Late-night is thriving on YouTube
Hosts taking time off in summer is normal and not a concern in itself; breaks have happened for years.
- Sole broadcast host this summer
- Jimmy Fallon
- Seth Meyers return date
- September 21
- The Daily Show return date
- September 8
- Stephen Colbert's status
- Writing a Lord of the Rings movie after CBS canceled The Late Show
- Linear late-night ad spend (2018)
- $439 million
- Linear late-night ad spend (2024)
- $221 million
- Conan O'Brien YouTube subscribers
- Nearly 10 million (Team Coco)
- Trevor Noah YouTube subscribers
- Nearly 5 million